Atomic!
Atomic! or ATOM!C is a series about an old astronaut professor finding an unknown, star-shaped source of light that destroys his rocket ship, but then resurrects and mutates him when the two simultaneously die next to each other. Grateful to be alive, he travels back to Earth to experience the pleasures he missed out on, but also decides to explore the star's radiation inside of him by taking on the role of a classic comic book superhero, though his powers are highly unsuitable in a world inhabited by normal humans. The series was conceived in June of 2019, but nothing has been published and its future layout is uncertain. Characters Anton Mạch Anton Mạch (pronounced: "Anton Mai") is the child of two German-born, Vietnamese scientists, who were mostly focused on space exploration. They died shortly after his birth and never got to contribute much or enter space themselves, but left behind an advanced spaceship for the American government to find. It contained equipment capable of caring for an infant and raising them to be a competent astronaut, without human guidance. The invention was supposed to ensure that a scientist would live to see the deeper parts of space and send data back to Earth, but naturally be unable to return or pursue their own wishes. The project's morality was questioned, but the craftsmanship and the fact Anton had no other relatives enticed the government to give it a try. Without informing the public or the space program's partner organizations (that were most likely to object), the baby was shot into space. Anton was successfully cared for and taught by the machines, until he was old enough to understand the ship's controls. He did what he was raised to do, without questioning it or being too held back by the absence of social interaction. When he was in his 80s, he came across a star-shaped formation of light that influenced the metal of the ship and deformed it within minutes. When there was nothing left of his home and office, Anton awaited his death in the cold outer space air, but the star was about to meet its end as well. It exploded at the same time Anton died, and its light reverted his body's molecules and caused his once pigmentless grey hair to get infused with the image of space. No trace of the star was left after that, there was just Anton and his young new self. As this being, he's granted knowledge of space's never-ending layout, but it ironically made him lose interest in it. With the ability to move and breathe in his once deadly environment, he flew back to Earth, where he decided not to report himself, but use his second chance of life to experience that which had been taken from him. Besides the fun and excitement Earth and its people give him, he also gets acquainted with the foreign concept of evil and crime, urging him to get involved and take on a secret superhero role as "Atomic". Anton tries to learn more of the star's effect on him during his crime fighting, though he can only conclude he's not an actual "living" human being anymore, but a human-shaped embodiment of space. His set of powers are mostly lethal and overkill; like spawning comets and black holes, inflicting burning radiation, lowing the temperature, and erasing oxygen from the air. Anton can also see things that happened in the past, but not go there and mingle with it. Though there are no deaths on Anton's name, people start to associate his Atomic character with danger and pretend to be overly satisfied or unsuspicious when he shows up. The army wishes to ambush and capture him, but since Anton doesn't have DNA anymore, nothing he sheds is useful for finding or capturing him. Still, not everyone agrees his existence alone counts as tyranny; and Atomic is given little reason to use his powers after everyone changed his attitude around him. Despite the feared Atomic and socially inept self, Anton befriends a woman he saved from tripping over a pebble. When out on the streets, she looks him up to hand over presents, usually candy. Because he didn't get to experience most foods in his life, he gladly receives it, his favourite being a low-priced box of grocery store chocolates. She eventually shows romantic interest in him, but he's unfamiliar with the practises of courtship and can't pick up on her obvious hints. Anton is a highly intelligent, devoted, but socially awkward man who is easily entertained, yet understands little. He's unfamiliar with slang, past and current trends, and most English sayings and can only take everything literally. He's a short, slender man with blue eyes and wavy long hair that looks like a portal into space. Before his transformation, he had black eyes and black hair, though the latter had turned grey over the years. When on Earth, his hair mirrors that of the Earth's sky, but this changes back when his hair expands/gets longer. Whether this is necessary for using his powers is uncertain, as it happens automatically. While it feels like regular hair, it's noticeably cold. ---- Becky von Mach Becky is a German-American woman Anton "saved" from tripping over a pebble. After he learned she has an eye condition that worsens her sight the more time progresses, he understood her level of clumsiness better, yet his act is extremely over-glorified by her and she mentions it to people often. Nevertheless, she doesn't know what Anton is or of his superhero quest, because she can't fully perceive his appearance. She believes it was a normal citizen who caught her fall, though seemingly has no opinion on the widely questioned Atomic either way. She sees Anton's ignorance and direct responses as humorous and is quick to call him a friend. When invited over to her house, he notices everything inside is either grey or white, to which she explains those colours are the cheapest and it won't matter when she's become officially blind. Her uninspired home reminds him of his time in space and he insists more colourful furniture will allow her to navigate better through her house. He helps her redecorate, which makes her realize her eyesight is not yet as bad as presumed. She confirms her crush on Anton, but he never understands her intentions. The fact he's lived as an 80 year old man before his mutation is also a factor, and the young Becky is not immediately seen as a love interests. She's friendly and generous, has many friends, but is bad at being alone. To become forgotten is one of her fears, another being her inevitable blindness, but she chooses not to make it a subject of conversation. Becky is a tall woman with a sturdy build. She has blonde hair and blue eyes that point outward and rarely make contact with the target of interest. Category:Original content Category:Series